Recovery Partition vs. Bootable DVD

Okay, so I recently screwed things up on my [brand new] rMBP thanks to Windows which led me to formatting the main had drive [Apple SSD.. and not Macintosh HD] Now, even Internet Recovery won't work and it tells me to contact AppleCare (which I can't do at the moment).
QUESTION: Is it possible to install Mountain Lion from a bootable DVD or does the Recovery partition also download additional software specific to the Mac I have, and so installing from bootable DVD won't work?
Thanks in advance,
Ayman

Don't use a DVD. Better to use a USB flash drive.
Make Your Own Mountain/Lion Installer
1. After downloading Mountain/Lion you must first save the Install Mac OS X Mountain/
    Lion application. After Mountain/Lion downloads DO NOT click on the Install button.
    Go to your Applications folder and make a copy of the Mountain/Lion installer. Move
    the copy into your Downloads folder. Now you can click on the Install button. You
    must do this because the installer deletes itself automatically when it finishes
    installing.
2. Get a USB flash drive that is at least 8 GBs. Prep this flash drive as follows:
a. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
b. After DU loads select your flash drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left
      side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
c. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one.
      Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the
      partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until
      the process has completed.
d. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side
      list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
e. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the
      button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
f. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to an hour depending upon the flash
     drive size.
3. Locate the saved Mountain/Lion installer in your Downloads folder. CTRL- or RIGHT-click on the installer and select Show Package Contents from the contextual menu. Double-click on the Contents folder to open it. Double-click on the SharedSupport folder. In this folder you will see a disc image named InstallESD.dmg.
4. Plug in your freshly prepared USB flash drive. You are going to clone the content of the InstallESD.dmg disc image to the flash drive as follows:
a. Double-click on the InstallESD.dmg file to mount it on your Desktop.
b. Open Disk Utility.
c. Select the USB flash drive from the left side list.
d. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
e. Select the USB flash drive volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
f. Drag the mounted disc icon from the Desktop into the Source entry field.
g. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
When the clone is completed you have a fully bootable installer that you can use without having to re-download Mountain/Lion.
Note: The term Mountain/Lion used above means Lion or Mountain Lion.
As an alternative to the above (you still have to do your own download of Lion/Mountain Lion) you can try using Lion DiskMaker 2.0 that automates the process of Steps 2 through 4.

Similar Messages

Create Recovery Partition D on DVD - HP Pavilion 6620f

I've just replaced the original, slowly failing 1 TB internal hard drive that came with this PC with a Western Digital one that is only 300 GB. When restoring the backup image from the original disk, there was not enough space to restore the Recovery Partition D. PC's operating system is Windows 7 Home Premium SP1.
Someone told me to put the partition onto a "bootable DVD" in case of future need. 2 questions:
Is this the right solution?
If so, can anyone tell me how to do it? Or direct me to somewhere to learn?
I am NOT a technical person and found the whole disk replacement thing totally intimidating despite all the learning I did doing it! This is why I'm not sure what to do now - or if it is even do-able for a "non-techie".
Any suggestions most appreciated! Thanks.
Linda
This question was solved.
View Solution.

lindairene,
Your correct. The DVD will re-create the entire original C and D partitions on a hard drive.
1) The hard drive (in GB) must be the same size or greater
2) It looks for the original hardware configuration. You must not have changed the hardware cards.
I am a volunteer. I am not an HP employee.
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How do I get the Recovery partition onto a DVD set from my solid state drive?

My Pavilion dv6 has only a solid state drive. I need to recover and reuse the 23 gb currently partitioned for recovery. To do this I need to move the recovery files off the drive. Can this be done? Where do i find instructions on how to do it?
Thanks,
Bill Wright

txi wrote: My Pavilion dv6 has only a solid state drive. I need to recover and reuse the 23 gb currently partitioned for recovery. To do this I need to move the recovery files off the drive. Can this be done? Where do i find instructions on how to do it? Thanks, Bill Wright
Hello txi, Your best bet would be to use a hard drive image program and perform a complete hard drive image.
If you have Windows 7 on the SSD this would include the System partition, the C: partition and the D: Recovery partition.
The D: Recovery requires some data from the Master Boot Record (MBR) in order to be accessed.
Just trying to copy the data from the Recovery partition would not be successful if you wanted to use this data later.
By making a hard drive imgae of the entire hard drive, and saving this image on an external hard drive, or a large enough USB drive, you could then delete the D: partition and expand the C: partition to recover the D: partition capacity.
Then if you need to revert back as the system was when the hard drive image was created, the D: partition would be put back on the SSD.
Please click the White Kudos star on the left, to say thanks.
Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem.

Need to re-install Windows, but I have no recovery partition or Windows DVD

Dear Reader,
Recently Windows got broken on my Toshiba Satellite L650-170.
I have tried to use my back-up, but the back-up utility refused my back-ups.
After some research the disk appears to be healthy, however all partitions on the disk seem to be damaged somehow.
So I am without both a Windows Disk nor Recovery Partition.
How can I get Windows back on my notebook using the windows key attached to it?
(A friend told me that using another windows 7 disk wont work)
Kind Regards,
Peter

Hi Peter
If you dont have access to original recovery partition the question is: what do you want to have installed on your notebook?
If you want to have factory settings again you must install OS using original Toshiba recovery disc. You can order it on http://backupmedia.toshiba.eu/landing.aspx
If you want to have own OS installation you can use original Microsoft disc with valid license code. Product key at the bottom of your notebook cannot be used for activation.
If you have more questions you are welcome.

Recovery partition after ubuntu installation

Hi, my computer has Windows 8.1 and the usual recovery partition. I'm looking for switching to ubuntu, but keeping the recovery partition in case I want to go back to windows (I don't want to lose my license). My question is, is the recovery partition bootable, and able to recover the full installation of windows? Thanks.

The recovery partition is bootable- but that function is usually broken when you make changes to the hard drive, especially when installing Linux distros. Make your Recovery Media on USB Flash drive. This can be used to boot from to recover the laptop back to Factory. Creating Recovery Media>> Windows 8

I have lost my recovery partition and recovery dvds for dv6-6c20tx notebook. how can i purchase one?

HP Pavilian dv6-6c20tx Entertainment Notebook PC
Windows 7 64 Bit

Hi:
Please read the info at the link below on how to order recovery disks:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=bph07143&tmp_task=solveCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lan...
If you can't get recovery disks, you can use this workaround if you can read your 25 character product key:
If you can read the 25 character Microsoft windows 7 product key, you can download plain Windows 7 ISO files to burn to DVD's for the version of windows that came installed on your PC, and that is listed on the Microsoft COA sticker on your PC's case.
Burn the ISO using the Burn ISO option on your DVD burning program and burn at the slowest possible speed your program will allow. This will create a bootable DVD.
Use the 25 character product key on the PC to activate the installation.
The key will activate either a 32 or 64 bit installation.
Then go to the PC's support and driver page to install the drivers you need.
Link to the W7 ISO file downloads is below.
http://www.mydigitallife.info/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-from-digital-river/
Paul

Lenovo G570 - I delete my recovery partition, recovery DVD doesn't work.

Hi!
First of all - sorry for my english.
I have problem with my Lenovo G570.
I make a backup DVD with system by OKR (4DVD). Then by accident i DELETED my recovery partition. When i try to boot from these DVD i get error: "The program cannot restore the system partition because its structure is incorrect ,you may have to recreate the partition to continue".
My partitions looks like this:
C: New installation of Windows 7 enterprise trial
D: Lenovo (default partition with drivers and backup)
Hidden empty partition where recovery was.
What should i do now?

one key recover won't work when you delete the hidden partition. there is only one way to fix this issue that is shipping back to service to reset the hdd its default ( lenovo may charge you )

Satellite Pro L850-1UJ: How create recovery DVDs from recovery partition

I recently bought a Satellite Pro L850-1UJ with Windows 8
http://www.toshiba.co.uk/laptops/satellite-pro/l850/satellite-pro-l850-1uj/
I've created a new partition (so i could use it as data room)
i.e. C: the windows system AND Z: my data
after that, i could NOT use the RECOVERY MEDIA CREATOR to create the recovery dvds
BUT the partition still exists and i can see the inside files from windows
IS IT a way to extract the files from the recovery partition or any other clue how i could fix the partition scheme so the RECOVERY MEDIA CREATOR could recognize it
Many thanks for your time...

>I've created a new partition (so i could use it as data room)
This was a mistake
The HDD partition table has been modified and changed which means that the Toshiba recover media creator would not find the essential files in order to create the Recovery disk or recovery USB flash memory stick.
What you could try to do is to reset the notebook back to factory settings.
For this you can use the option called Reset your PC.
Details here:
http://aps2.toshiba-tro.de/kb0/TSB2A03ES0000R01.htm
After that the partition table should be set to the same state like at the first day of purchase and you could try to create the recovery disk once again.
Otherwise if this does not help you, the recovery disk could be ordered as mentioned by user xaver

Lost hard drive space & recovery partition using Recovery DVDs

My computer crashed, so preformed and system recovery with the System Recovery DVD that I purchased from HP when I bought my HP Pavilion dv9834cl Notebook PC.
When the process was finished, I only got 32 gig of Hard Drive, It's a 320 gig HD! I lost 100 gig of hd space and the recovery partition.
I’m stuck. How can I format my hard drive and create a new Recovery Partition?
HELP!

Boot into OSX and re-run boot camp assistant. Select the option to remove/delete Windows partition (if you see it).
If not, open disk utlity and try to erase and combine the Windows partition back into your Mac one.

R&R 4.0 Bootable DVD + Network Recovery from other Subnet

Hi everyone,
we upgraded quite recently a bunch of workstations in the
office to brand spanking new Lenovo ThinkCentre A62 machines.
They are running great so far, very little to complain about.
Anyway, some software which came along were Rescue & Restore, which
is also available as a bootable DVD.
So we decided to give it a try (R&R) and among from various options for us
interesting was saving workstations directly to Samba share which resides
on the other subnet.
Workstations within the office are within 192.168.255.0 network. Samba shares
and backup target lies within 192.168.254.0 network.
So now comes the interesting part, which we couldn't resolve yet:
When one particular workstation will be started with R&R bootable DVD and
restore or rescue is about to be done through network connection, please let
me know if I'm mistaken it but R&R tries to sniff only the local network and
if it does not find anything that would fit, then network stays blank and there's
no target to rescue to or a source where restore data from.
Did I miss something as I couldn't find any network configuration options within
R&R 4.0 DVD after it booted.
I know a product from another manufacturer named True Image which lets
you configure network either manually or automatically through DHCP.
All in all, did I miss such an option within R&R 4.0 or could it be that this software
does not allow individual network configuration?
I would be very glad for any information regarding this. Thank you in advance for hints.
Cheers,
Chekov
Message Edited by _chekov_ on 02-05-2009 07:42 PM
Message Edited by _chekov_ on 04-29-2009 01:10 PM

As there's been no reactions to my original posting, I'm replying to this thread myself and
asking wheather somebody knows if there's any future plans of implementing Network Configuration
feature on Rescue & Recovery software??
Pre-installed versions of Rescue & Recovery 4 on these Lenovo ThinCenter A62 machines are
4.21.0014.00 and bootable DVD version of Rescue & Recovery 4 is having a version tag 4.21.9US0.00.
As far as I know the latest version of R&R 4 software has version 4.21.0016.00 tag but that version
has just some Active Directory improvements.
All in all, R&R 4 works only within a networked environment if clients will be offered IP-addresses from
DHCP-server IP-pool.
I am after manual network configuration so that in case of recovery it would be possible to configure
network per client manually (static IP-address).
Does anybody know is there any plans for such feature in future version of Rescue & Recovery software?
While Windows clients are running, we are obviously able to make backups to network share target but
in "worst scenario" where one particular client system has to be rescued using bootable DVD of R&R 4
software there's no way to reach network share source where backup image of a client has been saved
due to lack of network configuration features.
Most probably we are going to adapt more advanced products with professional network support.
Cheers,
Chekov

W520 - Using the recovery partition without a bootable OS installed

I've got a W520 with a hard drive that has been completely wiped aside from the Q/Recovery partition.
Is there a workflow for using the recovery partition to rebuild the factory Windows 7 install?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

1. Grab ImageX from Microsoft (somewhere).
2. Get a bootable USB with Windows 7 setup
3. Boot into the USB and enter repair tools (Command Prompt)
4. Navigate to the recovery partition, FactoryRecovery folder.
5. Note the size of sdrivebackup.wim
6. Use DISKPART to create a partition of at least this size. Make sure it is the first, it is active, and set to bootable.
7. Use ImageX to apply sdrivebackup.wim to this partition.
The command should be: ImageX /apply [recoverypartition]:\FactoryRecovery\sdrivebackup.wim [newpartition]:\
8. Then use DISKPART again to create an appropriately sized Windows 7 partition (presumably all the remaining space).
9. Again, use ImageX to apply cdrivebackup.swm to the newly created Windows 7 partition.
The command should be: ImageX /apply [recoverypartition]:\FactoryRecovery\cdrivebackup.swm [newwindowspartition]:\
Ideally this should make it work. If it doesn't, try a Startup Repair from the Windows install USB to fix any bootloader issues.
W520: i7-2720QM, Q2000M at 1080/688/1376, 21GB RAM, 500GB + 750GB HDD, FHD screen
X61T: L7500, 3GB RAM, 500GB HDD, XGA screen, Ultrabase
Y3P: 5Y70, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, QHD+ screen

How to recover ge620 from recovery dvd with corrupted recovery partition

i bought recently an ge620 and create recovery dvd with msi software (2 dvd)
i want to repartition its 750 hdd with third party software and now recovery partition and the whole system have trouble and system not booting atall.
the recovery partition is corrupted now and i have not the original win7 dvd especially product key to reinstal this x64 os .the drivers can be downloaded from oficial site.
i try to recover laptop from revovery dvd(press f3 or f11 inserting dvd but it read dvdrom and everything is ok until system try to read corrupted recovery partition and process fails )
plz help me how can i recovery this laptop with recovery dvd by FORCE the system to recover from dvd not recovery partition
thank you

See this FAQ:
https://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/how-to-recover-your-notebook
Select 'Fail-safe' option to recover from DVD, this will wipe all existing partitions and restore the notebook as you purchased it (all data will be destroyed).

Equium will not boot - how to access Recovery partition?

Hi, my sister has a 2008 Equium A200-1V0 with Vista 32-bit which will not boot (probably due to virus rootkit damage). It loads the BIOS but then goes straight to black screen with flashing cursor.
F8 does not work.
F2 goes to Phoenix TrustedCore Setup utility. The Toshiba hard drive and CD-ROM drive are listed in Main and Boot in the correct order.
Using F12 I can get it to boot from a Win7 64-bit repair disc I burned using my laptop.
However, this does not recognise the OS nor any image or restore points (because it is 64-bit) but it will load Command Prompt.
In *Command Prompt*, I can start Notepad and when I click File/ Open and double click on Computer it shows 4 Hard drives as follows:
Local Disk (C:)
Data (D:) 42 GB free of 54.5 GB
WinRE (E:) 1.11 GB free of 1.46 GB
Boot (X:) 29.0 MB free of 31.5 MB (which is used by the Repair disc)
So the C: drive is listed but without capacity.
*CHKDSK*
chkdsk c: /r and press return
"The type of the file system is NTFS.
Unable to determine volume version and state. CHKDSK aborted.
Failed to transfer logged messages to the event log with status 50.
*Running TESTDISK*
Analysis:
Partition Start End Size in Sectors
1 P Windows RE(store) 0 32 33 191 89 26 3072000
2 * HPFS - NTFS 191 89 27 7477 118 1 117051392
3 P HPFS - NTFS 7477 118 2 14592 190 62 114307072 (data)
* = Primary bootable
When doing Quick Search and then P - list files, of the second partition it reports:
"Can't open filesystem. Filesystem seems damaged."
So what I would like to do is boot up from Windows Restore on the E drive.
My question is to any Toshiba experts: When F8 does not work how do I use the recovery partition???
Laptop is:
Part Number : PSAF5E-002005KS
Key Features
- Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor T2310
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
- DVD Super Multi (Double Layer) drive
- 2,048 (1,024 + 1,024) MB RAM (667 MHz)
- 15.4 " WXGA TFT display 1,280 x 800

*UPDATE*:
I have borrowed a genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit dvd and booted up with that.
Clicked on "Repair your Computer"
Then it goes striaght to System recovery Options but no Operating System is shown. Click Next.
Then:
"Choose a Recovery Tool.
Operating system: Unknown on (Unknown) Local Disk"
*Startup Repair*
This takes 1 second.
Root cause found
System volume on disk is corrupt.
*System Restore*
"X - To Perform an offline System Restore, you must specify which Windows installation you would like to restore.
For example, if the installation located in "C:\Windows" should be restored enter the following command:
rstrui.exe /OFFLINE:C:\Windows "
*Windows Complete PC Restore*
" No valid backup locations could be found.
Windows cannot find a backup on the hard disks or DVDs on this computer. Attach the correct hard disks or insert the last backup DVD and then start the restore process again. "
Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool
Windows cannot check for memory problems...[snip]
*Command Prompt*
This is working fine.
CHKSDK C:
The type of file system is NTFS.
Unable to determine volume version and state. CHKDSK aborted.
The HDD is 120 GB and is split by Toshiba into 3 partitions.
C:\ drive (56GB) is bootable with Windows - this is corrupted.
D:\ drive (55 GB) has all Data - fully accessible
E:\ drive is CDROM
F:\ drive (1.46 GB) is the WinRE recovery partition - this is fully accessible.
So my question still remains: can I recover my Toshiba laptop using this recovery partition?
PLEASE NOTE: as mentioned above, pressing F8 during boot has no effect and therefore Safe Mode cannot be accessed.

Can I use the HP Recovery partition after formatting and repartitioning the rest of the hard drive?

I recently had my HP Pavilion dv4 2145dx laptop (Windows 7 64-bit) go kerput. The Geek Squad said that the motherboard died. I've purchased another laptop, and I'm using that one for now, and I am using the hard drive from the old dv4 as an external.
I'm planning to keep using the hard drive from the old dv4 as an external for now, but I'd like to be able to fix the dv4 at some point in the future. Here's the problem: to get the most out of the old dv4's drive as an external, I'd like to repartition it so that there is one NTFS partition and one HFS+ partition. That way I could use it easily with both my Mac and Windows machines.
But if I do that, I'm not sure if the HP Recovery image would still work. If it didn't work, then if/when I get the old dv4 a new motherboard, I couldn't restore the OS from the Recovery partition. This is a problem, because I didn't create Recovery Disks (stupid, I know - I'm definitely making them for the new machine).
So I'd like to do one of these two things:
1) Create my dv4 Recovery Disks. Can I do this if the dv4's drive is mounted in an external enclosure?
2) Format and partition the dv4 drive (leaving the Recovery partition intact), and later recover the system from the Recovery partition. Would the Recovery partition still work under those conditions?
Thanks for any help anyone's got.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi:
Anything you do to the C:\drive will render the recovery partition inoperable.
You won't be able to create a set of recovery disks unless the drive is operable in the notebook.
Can you still read all 25 characters of your W7 product key on the bottom of your busted notebook?
If so, you can do this...
If you can read the 25 character Microsoft windows 7 product key, you can download plain Windows 7 ISO files to burn to a DVD for the version of windows that came installed on your PC, and that is listed on the Microsoft COA sticker on your PC's case.
Burn the ISO using the Burn ISO option on your DVD burning program and burn at the slowest possible speed your program will allow. This will create a bootable DVD.
Or use the Windows 7 USB/DVD installation tool to compile the ISO file you download from Digital River. Link and instructions below. You need a 4 GB flash drive to use the USB method of compilation.
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool
Use the 25 character product key on the PC to activate the installation.
The key will activate either a 32 or 64 bit installation.
Then go to the PC's support and driver page to install the drivers you need.
Link to the W7 ISO file downloads is below.
http://www.mydigitallife.info/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-from-digital-river/
Or, you can probably still order a set of recovery disks for your notebook from HP.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=bph07143&tmp_task=solveCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lan...
Paul

Lenovo S405 How To: Re-Install Windows 8 if you have lost your recovery partition

To help some people out... I read some of you formatted your drive and now are stuck without the ability to restore Win 8 if you went to Win 7 before you knew there was an issue, or lost your recovery partition for any other reason. FYI, if you can get your hands on ANY Win 8 disk (doesn't matter if its Professional or the Regular version) and install it, your serial key for Win 8 is hardcoded into your motherboard BIOS. Therefore, if you have access to a disk, you can simply install and it will auto activate and install your pre installed key. No need to spend $90 or more if you don't have to.
If you don't have an external DVD Drive, simply download the Win7 to USB tool from Microsoft (it will work for Win 8) and transfer the disk image to a USB thumb drive (from another PC of course). Then boot from the thumb drive to install. Note: You will have to go into the BIOS to turn OFF UEFI and allow it to boot and install from a thumb drive.
In my experience, I had to turn off UEFI in the BIOS (Get to BIOS by pressing F2 at boot). By turn off, I mean place in "Legacy" mode. Then save and exit and allow to restart. Upon restart, enter the BIOS once again and you should now see your thumb drive appear on the list of bootable devices (the thumb drive has to be connected BEFORE booting into BIOS). Move the thumb drive up the list to be the first boot device, save and exit and you are in business.
Also, if you have access to the MSDN, you can actually download the RTM version of Win 8 which once its installed will auto activate and install using your hard coded serial making it a legit, normal copy.
I tried to write this as more of an overview and less of a "hand-holding" article for the purpose of quick reference. Any questions, please post. I will not provide links to any software mentioned in this article. Search engines are your friend.

After changing from UEFI to Legacy mode the function keys (F2 or Fn + F2) are not working anymore. I can't access the BIOS anymore and boot from the USB. Any idea? Thanks
All Ok now. Please ignore my previous comment

Recovery Partition vs. Bootable DVD

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